Arctic Air Arrives for Black Ice Week

Mother Nature is getting it hard for us once again. Arctic air has slid into place just days before the opening of the 4th annual Black Ice Pond Hockey Championships. Friday's opening temperatures are expected to be below freezing. That just makes me feel warm all over! Friday night should be rocking with the Dusty Gray Band taking stage as well as another fireworks spectacular. And don't miss the wet T-shirt contest because it is sure to be nippy. Don't forget that this wednesday evening at 5 pm. is the Black Ice Ale kick off party at the Barley House.  Come down and mingle with the stars, the muckers, the grinders, the fans and even a few knobs.

The Dusty Gray Band

Green Holds Off Late Blue Surge

"BTO" was flying down the wing despite a ragged tape job.

Another epic battle between long time rivals Green and Blue entertained the sold out crowd last night at  "The Doug".  Green held a three goal lead with under five minutes to play. Blue coach Tom "Painch" Painchaud put out his first unit of The "Tilly" Brothers, "The Big Cum", "Rudz" and "TC". They scored two quick goals to get within one. With a minute left in regulation, Blue pulled goalie Kenny "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley and put out rookie sensation "Hot Sauce". Green was pinned in their end as Blue moved the puck around the zone, but Kenny "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean held fast and preserved the win for Green. The game also featured the much anticipated return of Dave "Where's Waldo" Masinek. It had been rumored that Masinek was at the bottom of White's Park pond, but Masinek told reporters, "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated". Masinek's return was a huge boost to the Cheers hockey team who will need the veteran to carry them through Black Ice weekend if they have any chance of making sunday's playoff round. Masinek earned first star of the game honors for his solid play on the blue line. The second star of the game went to Ryan "Silky" Brandt who was a stalwart on defense for Green. The third star of the game went to Tom "TC" Carroll for his spectacular "Datsyukian" goal that lifted the Doug crowd out of their seats. That was the final NAHL game before the Black Ice break. Although it has been unseasonably mild for the past week, temperatures are expected to plummet this week. Low's will be in the single digits by tuesday night. Chris "Brownie" Brown is not worried about any postponements ruining the party. Look for  special Black Ice Editions of the Pucking Files all week long.

CCHL Back in Business: Week 13

After a long drawn out court battle, Judge Judy Lockjaw ruled in favor of letting the CCHL continue to operate, at least temporarily, despite owing the city of Concord a reported $16,000. The league was forced to pay fines in order to continue their schedule. League president Jeff "Hurricane" Cain was released from jail after the fines were paid. Cain told reporters at a press conference, "I'm relieved to be free once again. I'm very concerned about the number of players who have yet to pay their league fees. I've become the scapegoat for a bunch of deadbeat puck heads."
In week 13 the Windmill spun past BWW 5-2. The win snapped a three game losing streak for "The Mill" and in the process ended BWW's seven game win streak. Windmill was led by Bill "Hawkeye" MacDougal who had a pair of goals. Pat Lacasse, Joel Arsenault and Dan Arndt all lit the lamp for The Mill.  B2W's top line was held to just one goal which was scored by Mike Richard. For "Tricky Dick" Richard, it was his 30th tally of the season. Who knew? Windmill backstopper James "Moz" Mozkos made 47 saves and was named first star of the game.  In game two this week, Cimo's cruised to another win on tuesday night with a 7-3 victory against Cheers. The loss dropped Cheers to third place in the CCHL. Cimo's was led by super sub Kyle "Marcel" Marceau who scored his second hat trick this season. They also had single tallies by Phil "The Whistle" Lacasse, Chris Robert, Mike Russell and Matt "Nads" Nadeau. As Shakespeare once said: "You can't put toothpaste back in the tube and you can't put "Nads" back in the winless column." For Cheers it was a step backward. Cheers top scorer Corey "The Cockroach" Laroche was kept off the score sheet. Tim "The Timinator" Walsh, Cam "Bam" Heath and Taylor Smith each scored for Cheers. Cimo's netminder Ryan Simpson is showing why he was the first goalie selected in the draft as he turned away 40+ shots for the third consecutive game.

 Jack Frost is feeling the heat these days as Black Ice nears.

CCHL Standings
1. BWW        19 pts
2. Windmill    14 pts
3. Cheers        13 pts
4. Cimo's          6 pts

Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Richard         30
2. Williamson    27
3. Faretra           26
4. Laroche         25
5. Walsh            17

Big Road Win for Blue

"TC" Carroll

Blue has finally started to claw their way back into the playoff hunt with an important road win against rival Green. The win put the exclamation point at the end of a successful road trip on which the boys in Blue won four straight. Following wins over Red, Yellow, Magenta and Teal, team Blue came to "The Doug" feeling very good about themselves. New coach Tom "Painch" Painchaud has Blue heading in the right direction after the worst start in franchise history. Both teams went with rookie netminders as the Kenny's earned a well-deserved rest. Blue's Chevy Ford made the most of his opportunity and earned first star of the game honors by making 64 saves on 71 shots. Blue took an early lead only to see Green climb back in and take a 7 to 6 lead. The line of Tillotson, Carroll and Walsh scored two big third period goals including the game winner by Dave "Tilly" Tillotson, his fourth goal of the night. Tilly was named second star of the game. Green's backstop Zac "Geisha" Gercia was called up from the CCHL and performed brilliantly at times, despite letting in eight goals. He was  named third star of the game. He made 66 saves. "It was a big win for us tonight", said Dave "JP" Palisi. "We head home feeling pretty good about ourselves just weeks before the Black Ice break", said a giddy coach Tom "Painch" Painchaud. Blue has gotten themselves in a position to make a push after the Black Ice tournament although Green still remains in first place.  Look for plenty of "Black Ice" extras coming up soon on The Pucking Files.

Dumpin Snow, Dumpin Chase & Dumpin the CCHL

Dumpin Chase making a bid for the Dick Pinch Award

As temperatures plummeted and snow fell on The Doug, George "Dumpin" Chase carried Green on his back to victory. Green continued their winning ways with a 10- 9 victory over their arch rivals in Blue. George "Dumpin" Chase was instrumental in the Green victory scoring a hat trick and assisting on four others.  Not only was he stellar on the ice, he also put on a show in the locker room that could make him the frontrunner to win the coveted "Dick Pinch Award". Chase earned the number two "Star of the Game" honors for his  performance. The third star went to The Philbrick brothers. Tom "Philby" Philbrick scored four goals for Green while his brother Todd netted three for team Blue. The number one "Star of the Game" went to Dunc "Coach" Walsh for arranging the eight o'clock start time for the game. The NAHL has worked out a deal with the city to play their games at either 8pm or 6:45 pm with the squirts moving into the 9:30 pm slot. Child psychologist Dr. Phil N. LaBlanc says, "Today's children need to stay up later in order to stimulate cell growth in the plitithera region of the brain. "For years we thought children needed plenty of sleep to stimulate brain function, but now we realize that energy drinks can replace sleep". "Late night hockey is better for children because they would spend those hours normally playing violent video games or texting their BFFs." Dr. LeBlanc has just written a new book entitled "Snorting  Your Way to Success".

Sweater $145., Boots $215., Redhead...Priceless!

The city of Concord is about to shout the doors at "The Doug" to the CCHL, according to sources close to the mayor's office. The CCHL owes the Capital City a reported $23,000. for uncollected fees. A spokesperson for the city said, "If the city does not receive at least a third of that money by midnight on tuesday, then the CCHL will be locked out of The Douglas N. Everett Arena permanently". It was also suggested that league president Jeff "Hurricane" Cain serve a prison sentence of sixty days for failure to rectify the situation. A lawyer for Mr. Cain claims, "My client is innocent. He has done everything he can to try and collect funds to pay the city". City prosecutor Dewey Skrewem disputes the claim and said, "Mr. Cain was just counting on Moe Rudz to bail out the CCHL once again". Moe was not available to comment on that statement.